Davis Love III shoots 64, wins the Wyndham Championship at age 51

Davis Love III shot a final round 64 to become the third oldest winner in PGA Tour history at age 51.

On a weekend where many hoped the story to be about Tiger Woods getting back in the winner's circle at a PGA Tour event, it was an even more surprising redemption story that played out at Sedgefield Country Club.

Davis Love III shot a final round 64 on Sunday at the Wyndham Championship to become the third oldest PGA Tour winner in history.

Love III finished at -17 for the tournament, edging out 54-hole leader Jason Gore by one shot. Love III, at 51 years and 4 months old, is the oldest winner on the PGA Tour since Art Wall at the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1975 -- 51 years and 7 months.

The only player to win on the PGA Tour older than Love III or Wall was Sam Snead at 52 years and 10 months, ironically, at the 1965 Wyndham Championship.

Love III had to sweat out the final groups as Gore, Scott Brown and others flirted with the 17-under number, but no one was ever able to catch up to Love III's number.

The win means a lot for Love III. First, it's a huge step for his game. He's battled a foot injury and had surgery in March that made walking courses difficult. Just being in contention on the weekend is a big deal, not to mention winning. Love III mentioned that in his post-round press conference while fighting back tears.

"It's just fun to hang in there and keep competing out here on the PGA Tour," said Love III.

As for what it does for his career in the near future, he's now firmly into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He leapt from 186th to 76th with the win and will be in the field at the Barclays next week and -- if he can stay in the top 100 -- he'll make the Deutsche Bank field as well. Love III's jump is the largest in the FedEx Cup's short history by a player to get in the field -- previously the biggest jump was by Scott Piercy in 2010 from 140th to get in the top 125.

The win also gets Love III a Masters invite, which will be his first appearance at Augusta National since 2011. Love III was twice a runner-up at the Masters in 1995 and 1999, but has only played in golf's first major of the year twice since 2006.

Love III will now have a great deal more on his plate for the end of 2015 and the start of the 2016 season. Most expected his toughest task this next year to be selecting his team for the 2016 Ryder Cup as he serves as the U.S. Captain. Now, he's going to get to play in more tournaments and get an even closer look at his potential selections by playing with them rather than just watching them.

Davis Love III became the third oldest winner in PGA Tour history on Sunday. (USATSI)

Robby Kalland covers college football and golf for CBS Sports; he also dabbles in boxing, mixed martial arts and other sports. Prior to joining CBS in 2015, Robby spent time working for the Atlanta Hawks,...
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